DustinW

I was just wondering as a commercial pilot if I can offer a service to take passengers up for tours of Christmas lights this year or does this kind of operation require a part 135 certificate? I just read the privledges and limitations of commercial pilots in the FAR's and didn't see anything that would prohibit this however I could have overlooked something.

Thanks in advance!

Twin Wasp

It's come up before. While you don't need a 135 cert if you stay within 25nm, you do need a LoA from the FSDO per 91.147. And you need a drug testing program.

NoyGonnaDoIt

That's correct. Nonstop tours within a 25 NM radius of the airport at which the tour starts has long been exempt from operating certificate requirements. But they have for quite a while have been subject to a requirement for drug-testing programs and the FAA added 91.147 in 2007 to put the requirements in one place and require an application and a FSDO letter of Authorization.

As I recall, there is no formal application form. You can do it by letter, but it needs to include all the information that 91.147 requires.

Duckdude

Don't have the FAR's with me, but isn't it 25 Statute Miles?

Cubdriver

CFR FAR 91.147 says you need to comply with Part 120 which can be located here. Not being a lawyer I would be reluctant to digest all that myself. I would consult a couple of local Part 135 operators and ask who they do their alcohol and drug testing with, then call those firms and they should know how to comply with FAR Part 120. If none of them has a clue what you are talking about, then call the local FSDO and ask for a suggestion on who does the testing. Worst case if the FSDO is not helpful is you may have to custom tailor a program with a local testing agency based on Part 120, but that's what those companies do, so it should not be a big deal or overly expensive. My guess is you will have to do a urine test, pay a fee, wait for the paperwork in the mail showing you are clean, mail it to the FSDO perhaps, and then you will be good for 60 to 90 days. Obviously you need to back the cost out of testing in your flight fees. I also would give some thought to insurance- you should have anyone climbing onboard sign a damage waiver and of course have enough insurance for yourself and the airplane.

NoyGonnaDoIt

You are correct. Statute not nautical.

Cubdriver

Saw this today and thought about this thread.

Frisco entrepreneur's aerial sightseeing tours of holiday lights lead to memorable moments.

(12/10, V Wigglesworth, Dallas Morning News) David Snell's holiday light tours offer the sort of view typically reserved for Santa himself. At 1,500 feet, Snell guides his Cessna 172 from one neighborhood to the next, pointing out the lay of the land by rote. Bright lights from the big city dominate, with steady white lines snaking along the major thoroughfares. Holiday lights appear in pockets. Trees get in the way now and then, and the finer details of yard displays go unnoticed. But the brilliant sparkles accenting geometric shapes are a memorable sight from the dark sky above. "It's spectacular," said Snell, who is spending his 20th holiday season buzzing around North Texas as owner and one of the pilots for Starlight Flight...

Mason32

The correct answer is to check with your local FSDO. Each FSDO is it's own little world and with rare exceptions interprets rules as they see fit.

There is one FSDO in the northeast that has ruled this would require a 135 certificate if you were "advertising" the service... however, a person walking into the local flight school and soliticiting the service themselves would, according to the same FSDO, not be in violation. To them it really came down to "advertising and holding out service for fee." In other areas it would be perfectly fine to do what you're suggesting. The AOPA enforcement actions files are filled with stories about these types of things... which is why the correct answer is to go through YOUR local FSDO.
On side note, the aforemetioned FSDO was willing to accept that the pilots for such an operation were already under drug testing requirements due to their other full time work (135 and 121) and the same FSDO that crunched nuts on what was subject to 135, said as long as they used pilots from existing 135 and 121 operators they did not need their own program. Go figure. Feds !!!

WingsNthings

I ran across a pilot a couple weeks ago that said he got nailed by his local FSDO (I did not catch where he was from) for doing helicopter rides at a county fair without proper documentation of the drug testing program.

The three pilots he was working with each were on a drug testing program (one was a Reserves/National Guard Helo pilot, another an airline guy and he was a cheif pilot at a 135 operation) I think he said they are fining him $30,000 because he did not have each person's drug testing files on hand. Apparently he was supposed to request records from each of these pilot's employers and keep them on file. Also, although they were charging people a nominal fee like $25-30 a ride the pilots were not getting paid, he said he didn't even break even on his expenses, but was doing it more for the fun and getting people interested in aviation.

Be careful.

AKASHA

Huh. And??